1970 Subaru 360 deluxe

Subaru 1970 360 Deluxe, serial number 10772, Virginia title, two cylinder two stroke with a whopping 26hp. 3 speed with overdrive. This car is desirable because it is an American market version, as noted by the left hand drive. Japanese market cars, which are sometimes imported to the U.S., are right hand drive. If you really want an example of the Japanese car revolution in the U.S., this is a true example. It was owned until June 2013 by the son of the original owner.

The Subaru 360 was imported to the United States by Canadian entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin, who would go on to build his own car, the gull wing door Bricklin sports car. In an interview, Bricklin said, "My cost for the Subaru 360 was $640, FOB Yokohama. The cars were so well-built that the warranties only cost me $1.50 per car." The Subaru of America slogan was "Cheap and Ugly Does It."

I bought this car from the family of the original owner. The original owner named the car Mo-Joe. They told me the car had never sat outside, had a rebuilt motor and new tires. The son said “My dad bought the Subaru in 1970. He kept it till the mid 1980’s and sold it to his best friend Gary. Gary had the car till 2010 when he got sick and called me and asked me if I wanted it back. It sat in his garage with blankets covering it. At that time, I bought it back.” (June 2013)

I will pass on to the buyer the name and number of the shop that did this maintenance work.I do not have the receipts, just the statement and details from the son.

Most of these cars probably rusted out underneath. Look at the photos of the underside floor to see an original bottom in great condition.

All of the original Subaru 360’s like this came in white exterior with red interior. This one has been repainted in bright yellow, but the original white paint is still in the door jams and the engine compartment. That originality is also reflected in the original jam stickers, which instruct what type of gasoline to use. That is important, because this is a two cylinder car, a real rarity in the U.S. It’s a four-speed manual, which is really a three-speed with an overdrive fourth gear.

The Subaru 360 is of particular note because of its cute ladybug appearance and because the roof is a fiberglass removable panel, so it can be an ‘open’ car (I am sure you would have to source a new seal for the top panel to be able to remove and re-install the panel. The old seal is very hard.) This model was so popular that it often appears in online games.

I'm offering the car at no reserve, and the high bid takes it.It comes with a clean Virginia title in the name of the original owner's son, showing serial number 10772. I find that number stamped on the frame in a spot I learned about from the Subaru 360 Club. The doors open and shut nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsGbyo56KXE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KEhP2n3rYQ

This car has been sitting in my car collection storage room for most of the last three years. I recently pulled it out, put in a new battery, flushed the fuel tank, and fired it up. You can see in the video links that it runs pretty good, but it will probably need some work. The only specific item I know of is some brake fluid seepage from the left front wheel cylinder. But that said, it probably needs some tinkering before you would want to drive it a lot.